Your resume is the best medium to advertise yourself. Those sheets of paper are your ticket for that dream engineering job. For this reason, resume writing is a crucial step you need to be good at. This top 15 resume tips are designed for engineers and other non-engineering professionals.
Through the years, professional resumes also evolve and reformat. And so, careful judgement is needed in both content and style—after all these two factors decide whether or not you’ll be shortlisted or not. Fortunately, these top resume tips can help you advance to the interview round.
Photo: 15 Resume Tips for Engineers
1. Include your Most Relevant Engineering Skills
The screening system that employers use matches your resume to a designated set of qualifications. Include keywords on your resume that match the job-specific skills the employer is seeking. You can find the skills and attributes the employer is looking for in the job posting.
2. Add Numbers to Quantify Your Engineering Accomplishments
The content of your resume reflects what you’ve accomplished at work as a professional. Adding numbers to your resume gives you an extra dose of credibility while creating an impression that you can bring concrete contribution back to the engineering firm you applied for. However, not all of your achievements will be quantifiable, but still many of them can be.
3. Choose the Best Resume Format
The tone of voice and how a resume is written in terms of the style, font, layout and language is the will determine whether you are the better applicant. Depending on your personal and professional circumstances, choose a chronological, a functional, combination, or a targeted resume that best fits your skills, work experience, and educational background.
4. Choose a Basic Font
Photo: 15 Resume Tips for Engineers
You don’t want to complicate things when it’s the first meet-up. When writing a resume, it’s important to use a basic font that is easy to read, both for hiring engineers and for applicant management systems. There are several simple fonts that will make your resume look clear while still leaving an impact.
5. Put Your Most Important and Relevant Engineering Accomplishments First
It’s important to prioritize the content of your resume so that your most important and relevant experience are listed first, with key accomplishments listed at the top of each position.
6. Move the Education section to the bottom
Focus on your work experience (typically in reverse chronological order) then put your education and other information at the bottom of your resume. You don’t need to include high school or your GPA if it’s been a while since you graduated. Here’s when to take your GPA off your resume.
7. Bullet Points
Less is more when it comes to words on a resume. Use brief action-oriented sentences that describe your role at each employer. Use bullets to keep them in order.
8. Contact Information
After all the screening is done, it is pretty much obvious that the next step is to give you a call or send an email that you made it to the next round. Now, it’s important to include all your contact information on your resume so employers can easily get in touch with you. In most case, include your full name, street address, city, state, and zip, phone number, and email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile or professional website or blog, include those links as well.
9. Add a Profile to Your Resume
Objectives give a brief summary of your intentions and probable contributions to the company if ever you get hired. If you include an objective on your resume, it’s important to tailor it to match the job you are applying for. The more specific you are, the better chance you have of being considered for the job you are interested in or consider using a resume profile or summary, with or without a headline, instead.
10. Use a Connection
Getting your resume into the hands of the right person can help you get an interview. Your goal is to get your resume read and knowing someone who can help that happen will make a big difference in the outcome of your application. Referrals are the number one source of new hires.
11. Typo Error
Photo: 15 Resume Tips for Engineers
Resume errors matter, and don’t think a spelling or grammatical error won’t get picked up. Unfortunately, the mistake will jump right off the page and get noticed. Grammarly is a terrific tool for making sure that your resume and cover letters are perfect.
12. Write a Custom Resume for Every Engineering Job
It takes more time to write a custom resume that matches your qualifications to the employer’s job posting, but, it’s worth the effort, especially when applying for jobs that are a perfect match for your qualifications and experience.
13. Get rid of Non-essential Information
Your resume is professional, not personal. You should not include information about your personal life, family or hobbies or anything else not related to work.
14. Email Your Resume without a Glitch
When you’re sending an email resume, it’s important to follow the employer’s instructions on how to submit your cover letter and resume. The employer may want your resume attached to the email message and sent in specific format, typically as a Word document or a PDF.
15. Send Your Resume as an Attachment
When you apply for jobs via email, you may need to send your resume and cover letter as an attachment. It’s important to send your cover letter and resume attachments correctly, to include all the information you need so your email message is read, and to let the receiver know how they can contact you to schedule an interview.
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